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1,628,100 y 10 r 9 a. R. BACON INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed Jan. 31. 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 B rw 7169a" INVENTOK.

ATTORNEY.

' y 0 B. R. BACON LNTERNAIJ COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed Jan. 51. 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 @019; &5g COOINVENTOR.

A TTORNE Y.

, 1,628,100 May 10 1927' B. R. BACON INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed Jan. 31. 1924 4 Sheets- Sheet 4 INVENTOR. 8 P0)! aepn,

A TTORNE Y.

- groove, the five cylinders, and the roller Patented May 10, 1927.

anon n. BACON, or NEW YORK,

N. Y., AssIoNoaor rwo-rr r rnsmo wranxn 1v.

' BACON, OF NEW YORK; N. Y.

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION, mam.

Application filed January 31, 1924. Serial No. 889,641.

My invention relates to devices of the class referred to, and more particularly to the type in which the change of the reciprocating motion of the piston to the desired rotary motion is effected not by means of the usual connecting rod and crank but by means of a, cam, groove. or the equivalent. and a member reciprocating with'the piston and engaging the cam or groove. The object of the present invention is to provide an improved apparatus of this type in which certain advantages are obtained which it is impossible to obtain in the connecting rod and crank type of engines-at least without the introduction ,of undesirable 'complications; and which have not, as far as'l am aware. been hitherto obtained even in the present type. The 'advantages'will be more readily understood after the specification has been read, and they will be pointed out more 'fully hereinafter.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, whereFig.. -1 is accntral longitudinal section of an illustrative form of an engine embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is an end elevation, as viewed fromthe left of Fig; 1; Figs. '3, 4, and 5 are sections on lines 3-3, 4-4 and 5+5 respectively of Fig. 1 looking in each case in the direction" indicated the arrows' Fig. 6 is "a more or less diagrammatic development 'of the members engaging the groove, and will be referred to inexplaining certain features of the invention. p

In engines of this type it is-of course entirely possible to keep either-the portion bearing the cam, groove. or equivalent stationary and to have the rollers, or other engaging members. the pistons. and the cylinders rotate, or vice versa. l have chosen to illustrate my inventive idea in a form wherein the former arrangement is used, but it will be obvious from a perusal of the speciti cation that the invention is not limited in this respect but is equally applicable to the other form.

In the form of my invention shown in the drawings and hereinafter described I show a series of five cylinders, but this again is merely illustrative and not by way of limi-- tation, as some other number of cylinders may be used. I

Referring-to the drawings, the cylindrical housing 1 has formed in it the groove b the roller members 2, about. the precise'form of which more will be said hereafter. This groove 2 is engaged 3, of which there are five, one for each of the five cylinders. These cylinders, designated by reference numerals qt-flt, are arranged symmetrically about the axis of the cylinder 1, and withtheir' axes parallel to it. -VVithin I pistons 5-.5. .The explosive charge is'admitted, to, and the exhaust is expelled from, the cylinders through ports ports 6 are connected to the intakeand exhaust pipes 7" antl"8,.in proper sequence, and kept. closed at; times, by stationary valve 9. Rings- 10 and l l, extending' iiito stationary-valve Q and into.ihc rotating'multiplc-cylindcr bloc-hi2 at'opposite sid es' of ports 6, serve to prevent gas leakage from the -cylinders. The opening 13 through valve 9 permits the circulation of airfas indicatfld y the arrowsin Fig.1 to aid in cooling the cylinders. This air will'be sucked in through 13 and 'be propelled *o utarcl over'the cylinders by a centrifugal pump .action. I r

14--14 are spark plugs, electrical contact with which isma de at the proper moments by means of a "Contact carried by arm 15.

them reciprocate. the,

. These As this-Eportio'n:0f the' arrangement-(forms diation from the cylinders;-

The pistons 5'-'transmit' their motion-"to the roller heads-3 or vice versa by" means of the rods 17-47, whose ends engage the pistons and the rollers by ball-and-so'eket joints 18-18. 3 The roller heads 3 may be ofany' preferred them comprises a built up-'- b0dy portion 19 having a radially inwardly extending tongue 20. engaging and reciprocating in a roove 21 in the hollow shaft 22. Two grooves 23-23 engage the guidebars 24",24;

By means of. the guide bars 24 and slots21' the body portions of the roller heads are constrained to move inaccurate alinement with their-respective pistons. Opposite the tongue 20 each roller head The fins It -16- shown on linders' I are for the purpose of increasing eat raconstruction. In the form shown eachoilateral i vith .the packing ring 32 which is inserted I in an'annular groove in the L-shaped ring -one entire revolution about. the shaft, and

cular'part' 29 the outer surface of which at' t roper time enga the left, u r, in di er surface of 30. This cain lio is either integral with or at least firmly secured to the inner wall of the housing 1. Plate 31 is secured to and moves with the guide bars 24 and makes sliding contact 33. By this means this end of the casing 1 closed at this end for a purpose pointed out below.

J'Through holiow shaft 22 there extends the solid bar or shaft 34 equipped with the two ball-bearings 35 and 361m which the hollow member 22 turns. 37 is an a ditional ballbearing between. the hollow rotating shaft and the casin 1.

On the rotating hollow shaft 22 is meant ed the hub 38' to the flange 39 ofwhich is to be bolted the necessary mechanism for transmission of power to the int desired. On the lower side of the casmg l there is provided a chamber 40. separated from the remaining space in casing 1 by the partition 41, the partition being provided with holes 4242. This-space 40 is an oil reservoir, the oil filling it and standing to a level slightly-above partition, 41 so that the en larged part 29 of the rollers 3 dip into it.

In the operation of the engine, the housing 1. valve 9, shaft 34 are stationary; andcylinder block.12, istons 5. rods 17. roller heads 3, and the guide bars 24, plate 31, hollow shaft 22 and the parts connected to them, rotate.

Referring now to Fig, 6, there is illustrated here a development of the groove 2, the cylinders. 4;. pistons 5, and roller heads 3 being shown'in the relative positions they occupy at one certain moment, which positions each ofthem will occupy successively. At the left the piston is shown at the end of its exhaustastrohe, ready 'to begin the suction stroke. This suction stroke occurs during the time the roller moves throughthe ortiona' of groove 2. The suction stroke is followed by the compression stroke which occurs while the roller-is mQving through portion 6- of the groove.

Then comes the combustion of the fuel and the power stroke ofthe piston, during which the roller moves through the portion 0 of the groove 2. Thisis followed by the exhaust stroke during which the roller traverses the portion d of groove 2.

The piston is then' again in the position shown at the extreme left, having completed is ready for a repetition of the cycle.

It will be noted that I have taken advantage of the fact'that this 'type of engine permits of making the different strokes of the cycle of different lengths and in general of giving certain desirable characteristics -to the piston is still at such a distance from the end of the cylinder as is required for a charge of carburetted gases at the proper pressure. The point e of'the groove. 1n other words, is nearer the cylinder than point f. Similarly the points 7 and It need not be the same distance from the cylinder. h is put at such a distance that the full expans'ive effect of the burnt gases is realized, while 9 is chosen only with'reference to the charge it is desired to take in, the two points not being tied to each other. v v I The different strokes are, moreover according to my invention, given certain characteristics by shaping the groove in a certain way. Thus the portion b of the stroke, during which compression occurs, is not of a uniform slope throughout but is steeper at the lower part and then at the upper part,,

-as the force required forfurther'compression increases progressively. is made with progressively smaller slope. Thus the work of compression can be distributed through the stroke just as desired. By contrast, in a connecting rod and crank engine the'distribution of the work is fixed.

Similarly the power delivery during the power stroke may 'be distributed ovfcr .the stroke as desired. 1- illustrate this by male ing the slope more gradual at first where the pressure is great and steeper farther on as the pressure diminishes. Others may prefer some other distribution of the power over the stroke but .-"if they take advantage of the principleI have just stated and illustrated they are using myinvention:

The intake and exhaust strokes may likewise, if desired; be shaped to take advantage' of this inventive idea, although this will gener lly be of little moment inview of the re atively slight power expenditure involved.

'Another possibility {take advantage of, which is present here. but. absent in the coin necting-rod andcrank type of engine is the following.- Afterthe intake of the carbureta fiat spot at. It, the purpose in that case being to give'the valve a chance to open wide before beginning the exhaust stroke so as to reduce the baclopressure and the work required to expel the gases.

ted air or other explosive mixture is com- I wish next to point out the object of the formgiveh the roller, and of the cam 30. The former has two purposes. The first is that it is to copcrate with cam during the power stroke. The surface 26 being of comparatively small diameter the portion of it contacting with the surface of groove 2 is correspondingly small. While there is no an additional and larger the oil in all directions .or minimize the leakage of this oil that A ackin'" 'rin 32. s )oken of above. is inserted.

P ,2 s l I have in the illustration and specification shown an arrangement whereby each piston performs two complete strokes while revolving once around the central axis. Obviously my inventive idea is not limited to this arrangement but has equal application in cases where the engineer chooses to form the groove so as to have more than one power stroke for each revolution of each cylinder. 'Such an arrangement will be a natural one where the number of cylinders selected islarger than the number I have chosen for illustrative purposes. that the feature of my invention relating to the distribution of the load has application also in two-cycle engines.

\Vhat I claim is:

' 1. In a fourcycle internal combustion engine of the class described the combination of a cylinder, a piston reciprocating in the cylinder. a housing provided with a con tinuous internal undulatory groove lying in a cylindrical surface, said engine cylinder being mounted to be rotatable about the axis of the cylindrical surface and relatively to it, a member engaging the groove, :1 rod operatively connecting the member and the pisv ton. said groove being so shaped that at the end of the compression stroke the piston has not approached as close to the. end of the cylinder as at the end of the exhaust stroke.

2. In a four-cycle internal combustion engine of the class described the combination of a cylinder, :1 piston reciprocating in the cylinder. :1 housing provided with a continuous internal undulatory groove lying in a cylindrical surface. said engine cylinder being mounted to he rotatable about the axis of the cylindrical surface and relatively to it, a member engaging the groove. a rod operatively connecting the member and the piston, said groove being so shaped that at It will likewise be obvious.

the end of the exhaust stroke the piston has travelled substantially to the end of the cylinder, while at the end of the compression stroke it is still at a material distance from the end of the cylinder.

3. In a four-cycle internal coinlmstirm engine of the class described the-combination of a cylinder. a piston reciprocating in the cylinder. a housing provided with a continuous internal undulatorygroovc lying in a cylindrical surface, said engine cylinder being mounted to be rotatable about the axis of the cylindrical surface and relatively to it, a member engagin 'the groove, a rod operatively connecting the member-and the piston, said groove being. so shaped that at the end of alternate inward strokes of'the piston the piston is different distances from;

the end of the cylinder. I

4. In a fourcyele' internal combustion engine of the class described the combination of a cylinder, a piston reciprocating in the cylinder, a housing provided with a continuous internal undulat'ory groove lying in a cylindrical surface, said engine cylinder being mounted to be rotatable aboutthe axis of the cylindrical surface and relatively to it, a member engaging the groove, a rod. operatively connecting the member and the piston, said groove being so shaped that at the outward end of the intake stroke the piston is at a different distance from the end of the cylinder than at the end of the power stroke. J 5. In a four-cycle internal combustion engine of t e class described the combination of a cylin er, a piston reciprocating in the cylinder, a housing provided with \a con-- tinuous internal undulatoi groove lyirg in a cylindrical surface, sai engine cylinder being mounted to be rotatable about the axis of the cylindrical surface and relatively to it, a member engaging the groove, a rod operatively connecting the member and the piston, said groove being so sha ed that its slope over the part correspon ing to the compression strokevaries'to substantially ing mounted to be rotatable about the axis the cylindrical surface and relatively to of it, a mei nber engaging the groove, eratively connecting the member piston, said groove being so shaped slope over the a rod. opand the that its part corresponding to the power stroke varies tosubstantially equalize the load throughout the stroke.

7., In an internal combustion en ine of the class described, the combination 6% a plurality of cylinders, a piston recip ocating in said surface,

' vpistons, said groove being so shupedthat each. piston at the end of alternate inward strokes has approached its cylinder end by different distances.

8. In apparatus of the class described. the

combinationfof a cylinder, a head closing it fat one end, a piston reciproeatmg 1n 1t, a

, ,said cylinder being mounted to housing provided with a continuous piston. I I substantially wholly in at plane perpend1c- 'ular to thg'axis'oi undulasurface,

revolve about the axis ofJthe cylindrical surface, a member engaging the groove, a rodoperatively connecting the member and the said groove having a portion lying tory groove lying in a: cylindrical revoln ti on.

9. 1n apparatus of the class described, the

combinat on of at one end, a piston reciprocating in it, a

. the axis of the cylindrical ton, sa d 'by' the member duringth'e power stro a cylinder, a head closing it housing provided with a continuous undula tor groove lying in a cylindrical surface, s'ai cylinder being mounted to revolve about surface, a member engaging the groove, :1 rod operatively connecting the member and the piston, said groove having a portion engaged by the member during the suction stroke of the piston followed by a portion that is substantially entirely in a plane perpendicular to V the axis. 10. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of a cylinder, a head closing it at one end, a piston reciprocating in it,

a housing provided with a continuous undulatory groove lying in a cylindrical surface, said cylinder being mounted to revolve about the-axis of the cylindrical. surface, amember engaging the groove, a rod operatively connecting the member and the pisgroove having a portion engaged he of the piston followed by a portion that is substantially entirely in a plane perpendicular to the axis.

BYRON R. BACON. 

